Gene's TREMENDOUSLY GIGANTIC dilemma
by Areku
Summary: and it's solution. Gene has a problem- hence the title. Since I'm not gifted at summaries, I'll leave you with that. ~_^ Please R


AN This takes place sometime after the series, or it could be right smack in the middle, it doesn't really matter.  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to someone else, I own nothing but the plot. No lawsuits please, I'll take it down if it's a problem.  
  
  
  
Gene's TREMENDOUSLY GIGANTIC dilemma, and it's Solution  
  
by Areku  
  
  
  
  
  
Gene had a problem. Actually he had several problems that all built up into *one* problem. It all started when he found out there was going to be a week long rave on a small party asteroid. At first he had planed on attending, but Melfina had insisted that she go with him, and Melfina certainly wouldn't have fit in at the rave.  
  
So he decided that since he couldn't attend he would listen to the music on the radio. Alas, according to Jim's list of 'to does' he didn't have a free moment till the last day of the rave was in progress.  
  
This is where the more serious problems start. When he finally had a free moment, he couldn't get the station on ANY radio! He knew exactly what station it was, and on which frequency, but the station simply _was not there_. So after what seemed like hours of searching for a radio that would pick up the frequency he finally came up with his headset (which doubled as a radio) that was permanently tuned to that particular station.  
  
Now I'd better explain this headset because it's rather complicated. The headset came in the form of two ear-cuffs attached by a cord (that could be tight or loose, in front of the head or behind). If you wanted to change the station, you had to play with the dial that was located on the side of the cuff- next to the head. If the dial was too hard to find, you could take off one cuff (or both cuffs if preferred) and after pressing a microscopic button it (or they) could be enlarged to a box the size of an old fashioned, outdated walkman. Of course, at this size it/they couldn't fit on your ear, but you could see the buttons and dials, and so change stations with greater ease.  
  
But all this fancy technology was of no use. The ear-cuffs were ***BROKEN***.  
  
  
  
  
  
Or at least they were out of batteries.  
  
  
  
  
  
Which to Gene was as good as broken.  
  
  
  
  
  
Seeing as the ear-cuffs were so small it was practically impossible to replace the batteries. Even when enlarged the batteries were much smaller than today's hearing aide batteries, so you can imagine how much trouble they would cause poor Gene. He hated going through the hassle of trying to replace the batteries, he would much rather go out and buy a new set of ear- cuffs.  
  
Unfortunately Gene couldn't go out and buy new ones because every penny that was spent had to be approved by Jim. He wouldn't just hand Gene the money to go buy a new radio, before pestering him to change the batteries.  
  
  
  
Gene stared at the ear-cuffs furiously. It was _more_ than annoying that they wouldn't work; it was humiliating. He hadn't even used them for the past five months! So if he hadn't used them, and they were out of batteries, who did? Whoever dared take his most prized possession was going to get it- big time!  
  
He counted off the other crew members on his fingers.  
  
Suzuka- she was too busy 'refining her technique' to bother with popular music.  
  
Aisha- could be, but probably not, due to the fact that human music would be considered bellow that of the mighty Catarl Catarl.  
  
Melifna-...  
  
Jim-  
  
No, no, Melfina-...fine then...it was just too hilariously impossible to consider.  
  
Jim, being the only one left it must have been him. Maybe he took them and destroyed them out of spite, or some sort of revenge. After all Gene did pop his little red balloon when he was little, and pulled out the arm of his teddy bear... Maybe all Gene's past wrongs had been brought back to mind for some...unknown...reason. So that was it, it had to be Jim.  
  
*****  
  
Gene stomped into Jim's quarters, and with an accusing glare- presented the ear-cuffs to him.  
  
Jim had been sitting at a desk quietly typing away at his computer. He turned in his chair when Gene came in. He, who was quite startled by Gene's silent show of anger and couldn't quite place why the older man came to him with what was clearly jewelry, stared at them for a minute. He always knew Gene had a strange sense of fashion, but he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with earrings. Did Gene want him to get a piercing too? "Yeah, so? What do you want?"  
  
"It's your fault their broken, so you better fix them."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"It's my *radio*!"  
  
"Oh yeah, so I guess it isn't some cosmetic thing, you had me worried there for a minute Gene." He chuckled, but Gene stared him down, and he stopped. "I didn't touch them."  
  
"Yes, you did, so you better fix them."  
  
"No I didn't."  
  
"Yes you did."  
  
"Gene, I'm not dumb enough to break one of your stupid toys."  
  
"Oh yeah, then who was it?"  
  
"I don't know! Maybe it was Aisha or something. How should I know?!"  
  
"Oh yeah!! Well why would Aish want to use them!"  
  
Aisha, who just happened to be walking by, heard this, and decided it was her right to know what was being said about her. So she stepped in. "Hey what are you saying about me?! Huh, huh? You know it's not nice to talk about people behind their back, especially if that person is a vicious Catarl Catarl!!"  
  
"*Shut up* Aisha!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Aisha, Gene's just being an idiot cause his radio isn't working. Don't take it too personally."  
  
"Oh is that all? Well Gene, what can I say after all you don't have the gentle patience of the Catarl Catarl." She erupted cackling, as you may remember she is often prone to do.  
  
Gene, on the other hand, was extremely irritated which could be guessed because not only were his fists clenched and trembling slightly, and jaw locked in a tight grimace, *but* because his left eyebrow was twitching.  
  
"Well you know _egg headed_ Gene, the batteries probably ran out and he can't replace them with his _fat_ fingers."  
  
"AHAHAHA!" Aisha burst anew, and was laughing so hard she leaned against the wall for support and slid slowly to the ground, where she started banging her fists on the floor. Soon Jim joined her, after all, how often did he get to bang his fists on the floor?  
  
Gene, who didn't find it funny at all, was ***EXTREMELY*** angry. His pupils were dilated and his fists were shaking even more violently then ever.  
  
When he spoke his voice was a mask of calm, "I'll say it one more time," until it became too difficult to remain so, "SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He pulled out his caster and pointed back and forth from Jim to Aisha.  
  
With a yelp both of them closed their mouths and put their hands in the air.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*silence*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now Aisha, LEAVE!"  
  
"But I was just having a little fun."  
  
"NOW!"  
  
"Okay, okay, fine I'll go. You don't have to get so worked up about it Gene." She turned and walked out the door and down the corridor. She was still mumbling, "All about some stupid ear thingys anyway, what _is_ his problem." They heard some muffled snickering, and she was gone.  
  
Now Gene turned his full attention, and his caster, on poor little Jim, "Now Jim, you're going to fix my ear-cuffs, got it?"  
  
"For Pity sake Gene," Jim faced him a bit angrily, and was met with a steely glare and a gun between his eyes that made him gulp down his original rude comment for a much more polite one. "What I mean is I'll be happy to, if you'll just, uh, put that away...please?" He smiled, and nodded pointing to caster. Maybe in the back of his mind wondering what was so important about that radio thing anyway.  
  
"That's what I like to hear." Gene smiled and put his caster back in it's holster. "You know I would never hurt you, right partner?"  
  
"Of course Aniki and you can expect your radio fixed in a few hours."  
  
"A few hours?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Gene's smile quickly morphed back to the angry glare (the rave would be over in a few hours), "Make it half an hour." The caster was back between Jim's eyes.  
  
Jim's hands went in the air, but he managed to hold onto a fake little smile, "Sure Gene, whatever you want."  
  
"Good, then I'll see you then." Gene left.  
  
"Phew." Jim let out his breath, and stared at the ear-cuffs, which were now laying in his hands. "Man, what _is_ his problem today anyway?"  
  
*****  
  
Gene, after leaving Jim, fell to wandering the ship waiting for the allotted time.  
  
"Hello Gene." said a cheery little boxish thing with eyes and hands that ran along behind him.  
  
"Hello Gillium."  
  
"May I ask why you have been wandering around my corridors for the past fifteen minutes?"  
  
"I'd say 'no', but it's too late now."  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry Gene. I didn't mean to intrude." The little box was ready to zoom away but Gene stopped it, I mean him.  
  
"Hang on a sec Gillium. Do you know of any reason why I can't find _my_ radio station on any of the ship's radios."  
  
"No I haven't the foggiest."  
  
"Well you _should_ know you being the most advanced computer system ever developed."  
  
"Well when you put it that way, I believe it may be that the station is off the air."  
  
"Off the air?" His mouth twisted into an unpleasant look.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"It means that the station cannot be found on any radio, due to technical difficulties at the broadcast area. Really Gene, I would have thought _you_ of all people would know that." Both Gene and Gillium turned to see Suzuka standing before them sword over her shoulder.  
  
"So I can't hear the rave on _any_ radio."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"***NOOOOO***" Gene slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. On reflection he decided he enjoyed the sensation of venting on an inanimate object that couldn't complain, and yielded quite nicely to force.  
  
  
  
So he did it again...  
  
  
  
...and again.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile Suzuka and Gillium watched.  
  
"Oh my dear ship." Squealed Gillium, "I must go tell Jim." and off he zoomed.  
  
Gene continued to pound the wall oblivious to the throbbing in his wrist, the rather substantial dent in the wall, or the fact that Jim would be EXTREMELY angry and probably pull out his hand gun.  
  
  
  
  
  
That is, until Suzuka stopped him with several simple words-  
  
"Do you realize Jim will probably make _you_ fix the wall?"  
  
  
  
  
  
He stopped, and thought- it hadn't occurred to him, but she was right.  
  
Alas! It was too late, Jim had come and Gene's life was about to end.  
  
"Gene! WHY do you act immature ALL the time?! Why is it _I_ am the only one with sense on this ship?!?!"  
  
"I resent that remark." Suzuka said in her quiet way.  
  
Jim continued, "Gillium said you almost broke through the wall!"  
  
Gene just stared at him.  
  
"Well I hope you're going to fix it cause _I'm_ sure not!" Jim huffed, before he stomped off he remembered something. "Oh yeah I almost forgot, these are yours. There was NOTHING wrong with them." With that he tossed the ear-cuffs to Gene, who caught them.  
  
The ear-cuffs lay in his hand, glinting in the lights of the ship, and in the thrill of the moment, Gene forgot everything Suzukah said about the station not working.  
  
"Well I must be off since I see I'm not needed here." Suzukah walked away down the corridor.  
  
"You better start trying to unpound the wall Gene, now that you have your precious radio back." With that Jim left as well.  
  
Gene was still gazing at the cuffs. He would fix the wall latter, if ever, right then he had a lot of catching up to do.  
  
He sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. He slipped the cuffs on his ears and realized that Jim had turned them on for him. Bless his kind heart. He closed his eyes and prepared to drift off in the violent beats of the far off party.  
  
He sat like that for quite awhile, waiting. That is until he realized that there was no heavy beat coming in, no voice screaming the same line over and over. Where was the rave?  
  
What he heard instead was quite different. It was some aquatic thing with a fluid sound to it. Bubblish noises would come in every now and then, a wale's call, and then at a particularly intense moment (noted by multiple bubble noises) there was some snapping and muffled screaming (you know the way it sounds when you're under water). This was all well and good in it's own right, but Gene didn't particularly care for Neptune folk music, especially when something infinitely better could be had.  
  
He felt around for the tiny dial that would change the station. In the process his (pardon my language) *fat* finger tripped over the volume, which went wwwwwwaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy up.  
  
Things went from moderately bad to much, much worse. Now he could also hear the waving of the seaweed, the splash on the surface of the water, which must have been ores or something. The whole experience was truly...awful.  
  
He groped frantically for the dial that would change the station, but to no avail. It was too small, and he just couldn't remember where it was located.  
  
In frustration he ripped them off, and he would have thrown them on the floor if he wasn't afraid of breaking them.  
  
  
  
Then he remembered what Suzuka said, and he realized that the station wouldn't come in even if he remembered how to operate the cuffs.  
  
  
  
Why he didn't remember this sooner we shall never know.  
  
  
  
All hope of ever hearing this rave, vanished. He sat mournfully with the cuffs in hand. All he wanted now, was to turn them off. But it had been so long since he last used them, owing mainly to their inconvenience, that he had forgotten. He thought it was one of the small switches around the outside, but after turning them every which way he gave up.  
  
Trying was no use, it was lost to him. The memory of how to operate them had simply flown out of mind. It was Jim's fault of course, everything was his fault. Back from taking that job with Hilda that got Gene into this awful predicament.  
  
His eyes started to tear up. Yes it was still Gene, bad boy Gene. But you must understand how extremely frustrated he was. And deep down he felt like acting a little Out Of Character just once.  
  
  
  
So after all that, Gene's problem pretty much came down to this- he couldn't turn off his radio. If it doesn't sound like much just think of all the trouble that stupid thing put him through.  
  
  
  
Here comes the solution.  
  
  
  
At precisely that moment Melfina walked into the room. "Hello Gene, I was just helping Jim, you know down in the engine room, and he wanted me to come up here to tell you that you have to start..." then she saw the look on his face, "Oh Gene what's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"Melfina..."  
  
She knelt down next to him and held his arm, rubbing it comfortingly, looking into his face. "Should I call for a doctor or anything?"  
  
He shook his head slowly, still staring at those *things* in his hand.  
  
Melfina stared at him, her face showing concern. "Is there something I can do?"  
  
He sniffed, and held out the ear-cuffs. "Turn them off, PLLLEEAAASSSSS!!!!!!!"  
  
"Oh! Ummmm...I'll try?" She picked them up and immediately found the button that enlarged them. Next she turned them over once and examined the casing. Then she pressed a button on the top and the screen displaying which station the radio was tuned to went plank- the set had been turned off.  
  
Gene's face was a blank of amazement, and he couldn't speak. So he just stared his savior.  
  
He stared for a very long time.  
  
Then her accomplishment finally sunk in.  
  
"MELFINA!!!"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"HOW DID YOU DO IT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"  
  
"Oh easy Gene. You see I just pushed this button on the front. No not that one. This one, it's labeled 'off'."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
end  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I was considering writing out the tale of Gene's tormenting of little Jim. Particularly the case of the red balloon...Maybe latter...  
  
Response goes to Areku_kun@yahoo.com. Or you could review.  
  
Yes that's a hint. :)  
  
See you next time. 


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